-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A South Florida man killed his wife and son with a crossbow , drove 460 miles to try and kill his other son , and then slit his own throat .

The violent , long-distance rampage took Pedro Maldonado Sr. from one end of the state to the other .

While the Broward County Sheriff 's Office continues to piece together a time line , detectives believe Maldonado shot and killed his 47-year-old wife , Monica Narvaez-Maldonado , and their 17-year-old son , Pedro Maldonado Jr. , with a crossbow in their Weston townhouse sometime on Monday . Weston is located about 13 miles west of Fort Lauderdale .

The sheriff 's report says Maldonado , 53 , then drove about 460 miles north to Tallahassee in an attempt to kill his older son , JosÃ © Maldonado , who attends Florida State University .

`` His dad did try to shoot him with the same handheld crossbow and the arrow hit Jose 's ear , '' Dani Moschella , a spokeswoman for the sheriff 's department , told CNN affiliate WSVN . `` Then his father tried to choke him , and JosÃ © luckily was able to get away . ''

JosÃ © Maldonado never reported the attack to police , but it was his father 's confession to a friend on Tuesday that set authorities on his trail .

The Broward Sheriff 's report says Pedro Maldonado called a friend in Miami and admitted to killing his wife and son . A short time later , authorities found their bodies in the South Florida townhouse .

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Later in the day , authorities learned that Maldonado might be in the Lake City area , about 100 miles east of Tallahassee . The Columbia County Sheriff 's Office found his SUV at a hotel .

After trying to contact Maldonado for hours , they entered his room and found him dead early Wednesday . He slit his own throat , authorities said .

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`` I knew them . They were good neighbors . I never heard anything from the house -- no screaming , no fighting , nothing , '' neighbor Ana Maldonado , who is not related to the family , told WSVN . `` Terrible . I do n't see why parents have to get the kids involved . If you have a problem , solve it .

`` Do what he did far away , by himself , but leave the family alone . ''

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CNN 's Carma Hassan contributed to this report .

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Authorities say Pedro Maldonado killed his wife and son with a crossbow

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He then drove 460 milles to Tallahassee in an attempt to kill his other son

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Maldonado later called a friend , admitting to killing two family members

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He took his life in a Lake City hotel room , authorities say